This invention relates to inventory management.
A typical supply chain management (SCM) system involves the management of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from a supplier to a manufacturer, a wholesaler, a retailer, and to the final consumer. A SCM system can be viewed as a process that includes a product flow, an information flow, and a finance flow. The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns or service needs. The information flows involves transmitting orders and updating the status of the delivery. The finance flow includes credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. All these different types of flows can be controlled and monitored using computer software.
Typically, SCM software can be divided into two application categories: planning applications and execution applications. Planning applications use advanced algorithms to determine the best means to fill an order. Execution applications track the physical status of goods, the management of materials, and financial information involving the various parties in the supply chain.
One example of a software solution for supply chain management is the mySAP Supply Chain Management (mySAP SCM™) solution provided by SAP AG, located in Walldorf, Germany. The mySAP SCM™ solution is integrated with the mySAP.com® e-business platform that also provides other solutions, such as mySAP Product Lifecycle Management that ties suppliers into the design process and thereby increases quality and reduces time to market; mySAP Supplier Relationship Management that is used to locate the best suppliers and shorten sourcing cycles; and mySAP Customer Relationship Management that provides visibility into the end customer (see the worldwide website of SAP.com® for further information about the mySAP.com® e-business platform).
One important function of SCM systems is to manage stock, for example, keeping stock quantities, recording stock quantity changes resulting from goods movements, and providing information in response to queries about stock quantities and stock movements. In the current mySAP.com e-business solution, most of the functionality relating to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), including stock management, is performed by an SAP R/3 software component.
The changing nature of supply chains cause new needs that can not or can only partly be fulfilled by existing solutions, such as the SAP R/3 component. For example, the flow of goods in a global supply chain often includes the participation of several partners working with different SCM systems. It would be desirable to be able to retrieve stock information throughout the whole supply chain. Another example of new needs relate to logistic service providers, who need to manage physical inventories from different companies in a single warehouse. In existing applications, the underlying structure for stock management functionality is typically linked to the structure of the company owning the stock and can not handle an organization that only temporarily manages the stock (such as a logistics service provider).
There is also an increased need for management of stock quantity data substantially in real time. Some types of stock need to be represented in multiple units, because certain properties may change (for example, gasoline increases its volume when the temperature increases, while the mass is constant, and therefore a volume representation only is insufficient). Companies also need the flexibility to add new products, product groups, and so on to their stock management applications.